Where I Stand

Many years ago I was engaged in all kinds of political activity, from ending the war in Vietnam to working for Jerry Brown’s 1992 We The People campaign. I thought I could make a big difference in the world.

More recently I was involved with the ADL trying to get rid of Mr. Greenwalt and later, to a much lesser degree, Mr. Stuckey. I did some research for them, three or four times I was in the street with them, picketing. Part of my reason for participating was the lack of information coming from those general managers about what was happening with kill and adoption figures. I had no idea. The ADL was floating the number of 44,000 killed a year. I did not know what the true number was, but I knew that there was too much death.

About ten years ago I realized how weak and ineffectual I was as a person in making big changes in the world. I drew an imaginary circle around myself and decided I would protect and make a better world for every living creature within it. I created a small world where I could make a difference, but I never lost sight of the animals, within that circle and everywhere.

I met Mr. Boks in February. He had already been under attack by the ADL for weeks. I wondered why. Why the hate? What did the ADL expect to gain by their attempts to smear his reputation and almost infer criminal activity?

The people I had marched with and helped in other ways were not being honest and had no sense of fairness. I felt Ed’s enthusiasm and knew he would do well just through that enthusiasm alone, at least for a time. I thought that when he had his own people in place, things would get even better. If he needed to go, that would come later.

I included Mr. Boks into my circle of protection because I felt he would do the greatest advance in no-kill in the shortest period of time, as opposed to the ADL who wanted to smear him and LAAS now to place their own person as GM a year down the line after another 21,000 animals were killed. The story was that they would place their own person in and be guided by Mr. Winograd to achieve no-kill down the line. This is the substance of one of ADL's recent posts. Well, maybe they could do it, maybe not.

I thought TM would be a good AGM and told Ed so on many occasions. I felt we needed to have someone like her in that position who knew LA and rescuers well. But what are her chances now since the ADL has been promoting her so strongly?

I wanted to help Ed help the animals. I had my eye on the prize as the ADL put it, which was saving the animals. I felt their way might save them way down the line, but Ed was here now. I volunteered to write a newsletter, but for reasons beyond my control that never happened. So I started a blog—this blog. I was told not to do this as the ADL and their followers would try to destroy me.

Recently a group of people did decide to shut me down. They have threatened me in my attempt to publish truth as I see it. This is o.k., they have their views and I have mine. Now they are engaged in activities to smear me to discredit me so that I cannot help Ed or the animals. That is o.k. too. What is a reputation? Words and ideas in other's minds.

I don’t care about my reputation at all, they can take that from me, but still, I will help the animals. Those who attack me are revealed to everyone as to who they really are inside. Everyone sees it. They expose themselves as ugly people with distressed minds and absolutely no sense of fairness. The ADL has turned its back on me and wants to destroy me and force me to take my blog down as a sheer expression of their power, for, how many actually read my blog or are influenced by it? They are doing so through their proxies as they do not want to be identified as the real source. Recently strangers have been seen in my neighborhood walking around my house. I know what to expect next.

They want to show everyone their power to destroy and intimidate others.

Now, with the new GM in place and an anticipated $7,000,000 increase in the budget, everyone wants a job at LAAS. Everyone wants to help the animals and find personal salvation there. Ed Boks wants a job and he has it. Some want Ed’s job, some want the AGM’s job, some want to do publicity, some want to work with the end product—live animals. Some just need to make a living and do so in their true place in the world, helping animals.

As I said before, although Ed’s and the Mayor’s circles of protection is larger than mine, they cannot help everyone and many will fall through the cracks. This is life.

The point of all this is that what is important are the animals and saving the animals, not our own personal well-being. If we fall through the cracks, so be it; but we must not let the animals fall through the cracks.

I made a personal decision to help and protect Ed as he was under fire—unfairly. I want to help the Mayor in the same way. I’d love to see him as governor. Look what he has done in such a short time. They have the power to help, the ADL and their media spokespersons, and behind them, ALF, have only the ability to cause fear and destroy.

Above all, I understand and share the ADL’s and ALF’s mission and concur with their goals and even some of their methods at times. If they want to use those methods on me, in a sense I asked for it. But this will not deter me from helping Ed help the animals. They should know though, that in the meanwhile, they are killing the animals.

They had, past tense, a great reputation that they could have used in a positive way to unify the LA animal community behind a common effort to help the animals and continue the dramatic drop in the kill rate in the shelters. But they do not. They continue on their old trajectory of hate and destruction and in the process, they destroy themselves. Too bad. What a waste.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

You have presented the facts surrounding Ed Boks and ADL's smear campaign fairly. I'm sad to read that ADL wants to force you to take your blog down. That is so extremely hypocritical on their part. Please, don't take down your blog. Some of us want to know what is really happening.

We met at a recent rescue event and I was very much impressed by your attitudes and heart. Clearly you have the best of intentions as well as a selfless concern for animals. Your blog has always struck me as fair and balanced and I can't imagine ADL or anyone being upset (read crazy) enough to threaten you. I am sure you receive plenty of support from the non lunatic fringe, but let me add mine. Your reputation is in no danger as most folks really do consider the source. And in this case the source is a poisen pool. It will dry up and be forgotten.

I am very sorry for your pain and discomfort. This too will pass. People who are cruel to one another have little to teach us about kindness or correctness.

You have much yet to teach. Thank you for all of your effort on behalf of the quiet folks and little critters.